.namklaw
(2009-2011/ last activation 2023)
Portable Sound-Art Device
namklaw is a portable sound-art mobile multi-installation that seeks to rethink the concept of the portable audio device, using various cassette players (walkmans) to reproduce a 20 channel sound composition. Each device consists of a woven bejuco wearable that contains 10 magnetic tape players with a 30 minute per side cassette tape and 20 speakers. The stereo signal coming from each player represents two parts of the composition, creating an spatialized 20 channel environment inside the devices helmets.
.namklaw pays tribute to the first portable audio player, the walkman, and the influence it had in the way we listen to music, generating a soundtrack to our day to day lives. Taking this idea a bit further, .namklaw becomes a portable spatialized sound art device. The complete installation consists of 10 devices, worn to take strolls around specific places, therefore creating a moving sound hive that fills the space from different points.
For the new activation of the piece (2023), we worked on an algorithmic composition based on data of pollination patterns, communication for recruitment based on direction and distance from the nest, and the biomechanical properties of vibration pollination by the American bee (Tribe Meliponini) in Latin American agroecosystems. From this data, a 20-channel algorithmic piece for piano was created. The graphic approach of the scores, inspired by the work of M. Fussinato, allows us to see the routing of the notes to each channel, making it easier to understand the relationship between the sound piece and the hardware. 1
This new activation includes:
Portable Sound Device: Bejuco, Wool, Magnetic Tape Players, Magnetic Tapes, Speakers, Wood and Glass. 110x57x57 cm. 2009
Graphic Scores - Parts I to X and XI to XX: Digital Print on Liberon 350 gm Paper, Ink. 43x55 cm. 2023
Algorithmic Sound Composition for 20 channels: Magnetic Tapes. 43x60 cm. 2023
In Situ Process Recording: Video and Sound Piece. 22.5x26.5 cm. 2009/2023
Video that documents the process of construction of the bejuco devices. The sound track is the algorithmic piano piece.
